Abstract
The phenomenon of dreaming about the laboratory when participating in a sleep study is common. The content of such dreams draws upon episodic memory fragments of the participant's lab experience, generally, experimenters, electrodes, the lab setting, and experimental tasks. However, as common as such dreams are, they have rarely been given a thorough quantitative or qualitative treatment. Here we assessed 528 dreams (N = 343 participants) collected in a Montreal sleep lab to 1) evaluate state and trait factors related to such dreams, and 2) investigate the phenomenology of lab incorporations using a new scoring system. Lab incorporations occurred in over a third (35.8%) of all dreams and were especially likely to occur in REM sleep (44.2%) or from morning naps (48.4%). They tended to be related to higher depression scores, but not to sex, nightmare-proneness or anxiety. Common themes associated with lab incorporation were: Meta-dreaming, including lucid dreams and false awakenings (40.7%), Sensory incorporations (27%), Wayfinding to, from or within the lab (24.3%), Sleep as performance (19.6%), Friends/Family in the lab (15.9%) and Being an object of observation (12.2%). Finally, 31.7% of the lab incorporation dreams included relative projections into a near future (e.g., the experiment having been completed), but very few projections into the past (2.6%). Results clarify sleep stage and sleep timing factors associated with dreamed lab incorporations. Phenomenological findings further reveal both the typical and unique ways in which lab memory elements are incorporated de novo into dreaming. Identified themes point to frequent social and skillful dream scenarios that entail monitoring of one's current state (in the lab) and projection of the self into dream environments elaborated around local space and time. The findings have implications for understanding fundamental dream formation mechanisms but also for appreciating both the advantages and methodological pitfalls of conducting laboratory-based dream collection.
Highlights
The incorporation of laboratory memories in dreamsEver since Aserinsky & Kleitman’s [1] discovery of a link between vivid dreaming and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep opened the doors to laboratory investigations of dreaming, the phenomenon of dreaming about the laboratory has proven to be a ubiquitous feature of the research landscape
Lab incorporation dreams are more probable from morning naps and REM sleep
Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) assessing factors predicting the occurrence of lab incorporation dream (LID) were conducted on 528 reports from 343 participants
Summary
Ever since Aserinsky & Kleitman’s [1] discovery of a link between vivid dreaming and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep opened the doors to laboratory investigations of dreaming, the phenomenon of dreaming about the laboratory has proven to be a ubiquitous feature of the research landscape (see review in [2]). These are dreams in which some element of the participant’s laboratory experience reappears in the content of their subsequent dreams. It is noteworthy that since 1996, no new study with a focus on laboratory incorporation dreaming has been published
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
